FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Division 
Section 


il'1i 


v  MAR  23  1932  * 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


$ irst  gtformeb  Jroitstani  §utt\  Cjjnrtjj 


TARRYTOWN,  K  Y. 


BY  { 

REV.   ABEL    T.    STEWART. 


HVE^IT    13,    186S. 


NEW  YORK: 
ANSON    D.    F.    RANDOLPH 

No.    770    BROADWAY, 
Corner  of  9th  Street. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://archive.org/details/discouOOstew 


Tarrytown,  May  14,  18G6. 
Rev.  A.  T.  Stewart: 

Dear  Sir, — We  were  greatly  interested  in  the  Historical  Discourse 
preached  yesterday  by  you. 

This  history  of  our  church,  prepared,  as  it  must  have  been,  with  great 
labor,  and  much  of  which,  we  are  sure,  it  would  be  impossible  to  reproduce, 
if  this  be  lost,  we  feel  should  be  preserved  in  more  permanent  form,  and  we 
will  feel  greatly  obliged  if  you  will  furnish  us  a  copy  for  publication. 

We  cannot  neglect  this  opportunity  to  say  how  much  we  regret  that  the 
providence  of  God  has  seemed  to  your  mind  to  order  you  to  another  field 
of  labor,  and  that  the  harmonious  relations  that  have  existed  between  you 
and  this  people  for  nearly  fourteen  years  are  to  be  severed. 

Be  assured  that  you  leave  behind  you  pleasant  memories  of  a  most  useful 
service  here,  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  carry  with  you  the  universally  kind 
wishes  of  this  people  for  your  happiness,  and  their  fervent  prayers  that 
your  future  labors  may  be  greatly  blessed. 

We  are,  dear  sir, 

Faithfully  yours, 
Wm.  H.  Platt,  Ab'm  D.  Stephens, 

E.  R.  Bogardus,         Wm.  See, 
Wm.  B.  Landrine,    Jno.  A.  Van  Tassel, 
John  P.  Landrine, 
P.  Augustus  See, 


John  R.  Bacon, 
Jas.  M.  Swift, 
H.  G.  Gilbert, 
Francis  Brown, 
John  R.  Stephens, 


Ab'm  D.  Stephens,  Jr.,  Jas.  S.  See, 
Chas.  G.  Stephens,       William  Hawes, 
John  Mildeberger,     L.  J.  Mabie, 


Isaac  R.  Mead, 
John  F.  Powell, 
W.  F.  Minnerly, 
Hiram  Bird, 
Ab'm  D.  Tompkins, 


James  See, 


Edw'd  T.  Tounier,    W.  F.  Van  Wart. 


Somerville,  May  24th,  1866. 

Dear  Brethren  :  I  am  much  pleased  witli  the  desire  you  express  for 
the  preservation  of  the  history  of  your  church  and  its  branches,  contained 
in  my  last  morning  sermon. 

Many  of  its  facts  and  incidents  were  learned  from  a  generation  passed 
away,  and,  as  you  believe,  could  not  be  reproduced  if  now  lost. 

The  sermon  is  therefore  placed  at  your  disposal,  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
be  a  memento  of  the  happy  relation  so  long  existing  between  us,  and  serve 
through  coming  years,  as  you  recur  to  its  pages,  to  deepen  your  sympathies, 
and  hold  you  together  in  Christian  love  and  labors, 

With  great  respect  and  affection, 

I  remain, 

Your  former  Pastor, 

Abel  T.  Stewart. 


SERMON 


"  Then  Samuel  took  a  stone  and  set  it  between  Mizpeh  and  Slien,  and 
called  the  name  of  it  Eben-ezer,  saying,  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 
— 1  Samltel,  vii,  12. 

It  is  becoming  in  us,  as  well  as  important,  to  ac- 
knowledge our  mercies.  We  are  indebted  for  tnem  to 
God,  and  can  make  to  Him  but  the  simple  return  of 
our  gratitude.  He  is  also  pleased  with  our  apprecia- 
tion of  His  goodness,  and  has  encouraged  us  to  record 
His  loving-kindness.  The  patriarch  Jacob,  about  to 
ask  of  God  deliverance  from  the  hand  of  his  mur- 
derous brother,  cried,  "  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least 
of  all  the  mercies  and  of  all  the  truth  which  thou 
hast  showed  unto  thy  servant;  for  with  my  staff  I 
passed  over  this  Jordan,  and  now  I  am  become  two 
bands."  In  the  same  spirit,  Samuel,  the  tried  friend 
and  prophet  of  Israel,  prayed  for  her  when  in  trouble, 
and  upon  her  deliverance,  acknowledged  the  help  of 
the  Lord.  On  one  occasion,  he  prayed  earnestly  for 
her  success  over  the  hosts  of  the  Philistines ;  and  the 
Lord  in  gracious  answer,  "thundered  with  a  great 
thunder  on  that  day  "  upon  them,  and  so  discomfited 
and  subdued  them  that  "  they  came  no  more  into  the 
coasts  of  Israel.'7  Then  Samuel,  in  grateful  remem- 
brance of  this  and  former  mercies,  took  a  stone  and  set 
it  up  on  the  place  of  victory,  as  a  monument  of  God's 


6 

goodness,  "and  called  the  name  of  it  Eben-ezer, 
saying,  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us."  In  the 
light  of  this  sacred  event,  it  seems  well  for  us,  as  a 
church,  to  look  back  over  our  history,  to  note  our  mer- 
cies, and  raise  an  Eben-ezer  in  all  our  hearts,  in 
grateful  acknowledgment  of  Him,  who  has  been  our 
helper. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1715,  this  church,  called 
the  Church  of  Philipsburgh,  saw  that  no  minutes  had 
been  kept  of  their  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  determined 
to  record  them  as  far  as  they  could  be  "  discovered 
according  to  the  real  truth."  They  chose  for  this  im- 
portant undertaking,  Abraham  De  Reviere.  He  pre- 
faced his  work  by  "  laying  before  the  gracious  reader" 
the  historical  fact  that  it  had  "  pleased  his  Royal 
Majesty  of  England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland, 
Defender  of  the  Faith,  etc.,  about  the  year  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  1680,  to  grant  by  prerogative,  con- 
sent and  license,  to  the  Honorable  Fredryck  Flypse,  to 
freely  buy  to  or  in  a  sale  of  estate,  in  the  county  of 
Westchester,  in  America,  beginning  at  the  place  of 
Spuyten  Duyvel's  Kill  and  running  north  along  the 
river  to  and  on  the  kill  of  Kitch-awong  (now  called 
Croton  river)  &c,  &c,  as  in  the  license  and  patent  is 
contained,  which  is  called  Philipsburgh,  and  that  Lord 

Philips  had  contracted  with •  to  let  any  one  settle 

on  said  land  free,  for  certain  stipulated  years,  in  order 
that  it  should,  as  soon  as  possible,  be  cultivated  and 
settled."  He  then  shows  "  in  what  manner  these  first 
Christian  inhabitants,  in  this  heathenism  and  with  and 


among  the  heathen  "  (meaning  the  American  Indians) 
"endeavored  to  live  as  true  Christians.  First,  they 
thought  it  very  necessary  to  meet  together  at  a  conve- 
nient place  on  the  Lord's  day,  to  pray  to  God  with  the 
whole  heart,  and  praise  and  bless  Him  with  psalms 
and  hymns.  Secondly,  they  thought  it  necessary  to 
find  a  Reformed  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  to  per- 
suade him  to  come  three  or  four  times  a  year  to  preach 
and  to  administer  the  holy  sacraments,  that  thus 
the  church  of  God  might  he  the  better  partakers  of 
the  grace  of  Jesus,  and  the  covenants  of  the  holy 
sacraments,  according  to  the  true  Christian  Reformed 
religion/'  Further  on  he  records  the  acceptance  of 
their  invitation,  "given  1697  to  the  very  learned  and 
pious  Rev.  Guilliaume  Bartholf,  minister  in  Hakinsack 
and  Hagquackenon,  to  preach  for  them,  and  admin- 
ister the  sacraments  three  or  four  times  in  a  year ;  and 
the  continuance  of  these  ordinances  until  the  2d  of 
November,  1715;  also  the  payment  of  the  minister 
for  these  services,  and  of  Mr.  Van  Houten,  who  carried 
him  on  these  long  journeys  from  and  to  his  home  in 
Hakinsack." 

On  the  18th  and  19th  of  April,  171G,  Mr.  Guil- 
liaume again  performed  religious  services  in  this 
church.  He  was  brought  and  returned  as  before  by 
Tunis  Yan  Houten,  and  a  special  record  of  thanks 
was  made  on  the  occasion  "  for  the  usual  liberality  of 
the  very  Provident  Lady  Madame  Catharina  Philips." 
About  this  time,  a  record  of  thanks  was  made  to  Lord 
Adolphus  Philips,  in  the  following  words  :  "  Resolved, 


8 

that  we  take  in  hand  and  complete,  in  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, our  resolution  to  show  the  duty  of  thanks  which 
we  owe  for  the  many  mercies  done  to  your  servants, 
our  parents  of  blessed  memory,  but  especially  to  us, 
your  present  servants  and  women  servants  from  time 
to  time,  by  your  Hon.  Eight  honorable  Lord  and 
Father  of  blessed  memory,  as  also  from  your  Honored 
Mother  of  blessed  memory  Lady  Margarita,  as  also  by 
your  Lord  Father's  last  weded  wife  Lady  Catharina, 
as  also  by  your  Hon.  Right  Hon.  and  noble,  very  wise 
and  provident,  our  Lordship,  the  Lord  Adolphus 
Philips,  viz. :  for  the  many  benefits  done  to  us  your 
faithful  servants  and  women  servants  through  various 
favorable  means  and  good  instruction,  we  therefore 
pray  with  all  revereDce  that  your  Hon.  Lordship  will 
receive  and  accept  these  our  small  thanks  according  to 
our  small  desert,  and  we  your  honored  and  obedient 
servants  will  remain  obligated  and  will  ever  be  your 
honorable  very  obedient  humble  servants." 

The  old  records  consist  of  eight  books  in  Dutch, 
and  reach  down  to  the  times  of  peace  succeeding  the 
American  Revolution. 

The  1st  contains  the  date  of  "the  observance  of 
the  Word  of  God  and  the  holy  sacraments  and  the 
compensation  every  time." 

The  2d  contains  "  the  names  of  all  the  respective 
persons,  who  after  Christian  examination  and  exhorta- 
tion have  united  themselves  and  have  been  received  as 
members  of  Jesus  Christ  to  appear  at  the  table  of 
the   holy  sacrament   of  the  Lord's  Supper.      Firstly 


and  before  all  the  Eight  Hon.  Pious,  very  wise  and 
provident   Lady  Catharina   Philips,  widow  of  Lord 
Frederick  Philips  who  did  here  very  praiseworthily 
advance   the  cause  of  religion.     Furthermore  of  the 
church  at  Philipsburgh, 
Abraham  De  Reviere. 
Isaac  Sie  sien.  and  Esther  his  wife. 
Isaac  Sie  Jun. 

Joachim  Van  Wert  and  Christyantye  his  wife. 

Syboret  Kranckkeyt  and  Maritie  " 

Ryck  Abramsse  and  Tryntje  " 

Jan  Ecker  and  Magdalentje  " 
Wolffert  Ecker  and  Marytie 

Jan  Fouseer  and  Eva  " 

An  dries  Van  Dyck  and  Gresje  ;' 

Isaac  Van  Dyck  and  Barber  il 

Abraham  De  Reviere  Jr.  and  Weyntje  " 

Gerridit  Van  Weert  and  Cathalyna  " 
Jan  Hart  from  Switzerland. 

David  Storm  and  Esther  " 

Barent  Duytsen  and  Maritje  " 

Lodewyck  Ackerman  and  Hillegonda  " 
Rachel  the  wife  of  Thomas  Heyert. 

Dirck  Storm  and  Maria  " 

Jacob  Van  Texel  and  Aeltje  u 

Sebastiaen  Michgielye  and  Galante  " 

Gregoris  Storm  and  Engeltje  u 

Poulus  Rut  an  and  Angelica  " 

Peter  Sie  and  Pironella  " 
Jacobus  Sie  and  Catharina 


10 

Jan  Louwrenye  and  Marytje  his  wife. 

Jan  Van  Texel  and  Catharina        " 

Abram  De  Vanw  and  Meeno         " 

Geertje,  wife  of  Pieter  Buys. 

Antje  Banckert,  wife  of  Hendrick  Krankheyt. 

Beellitje,  wife  of  Jacob  Van  Weert. 

Lonwrons  Matbyse  Banekert  and  Niesje  De  Groot 
bis  wife. 

Margritje,  wife  of  Josepb  Escoth. 

Willern  Aertyen,  daughter  of  tbe  above. 

Abram  Van  Dyck  and  Elizabetb  bis  wife. 

Antje  Van  Lent,  wife  of  Caret  Davidyen. 

Peter  Storm  and  Margrietje  bis  wife. 

Antje  Van  Weert,  wife  of  Samuel  Cauckle. 

Herman  Jurckye  and  Maria  his  wife. 

Antje  Sybout,  wife  of  Jan  Beesly. 

Antje,  wife  of  Hendrick  Cronkbeyt. 

Cornelius  Van  Texel  and  Antje  bis  wife. 

Antje  Keninck,  wife  of  Louies  Boule." 

Tbis  record  doubtless  sbows  tbe  entire  number  who 
had  been  connected  with  the  church,  without  giving 
the  date  of  their  connection,  from  1697  to  1715. 
From  this  last  date  the  record  is  continued  with  regu- 
larity, showing  the  year  and  tbe  day  in  which  addi- 
tions were  made  until  1775  and  1776.  Then  a  dark 
and  distressing  period  arose,  in  which  all  hearts  were 
enlisted  in  the  strife  for  liberty.  The  tea,  about  to  be 
forced  upon  the  people,  had  been  thrown  into  the 
Boston  harbor.  The  House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia 
had  protested  against  the  act  of  Parliament  closing 
the  Boston  port,  and  been  dissolved  for  its  action. 


11 


The  Virginia  Legislature,  and  the  Massachusetts  As- 
sembly, had  alike  recommended  a  general  Congress. 
It  had  assembled  in  Philadelphia,  in  a  meeting  de- 
scribed as  "  awfully  solemn."  Conventions  had  been 
held  in  some  States,  town  meetings  in  others ;  and  the 
eloquent  tongues  of  such  men  as  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Rutledge,  John  Adams,  and  Josiah  Quincy,  had  been 
loosed  in  discussion  of  public  rights  and  measures. 
Eight  patriot  men  had  been  shot  down  in  Lexington, 
and  the  cry  of  blood  was  running  through  the  land. 
Then  for  nearly  ten  years,  including  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  and  reaching  to  February,  1785,  no  one 
draws  a  pen  in  these  ancient  records.  Children  were 
born  but  not  baptized.  Sinners  repented,  we  would 
hope,  but  were  not  united  by  profession  with  the  church 
of  Christ.  There  was  no  open  house  to  publish  three 
times  the  names  of  those  who,  in  the  si^ht  of  God  and 
His  church,  would  be  joined  in  holy  wedlock  ;  no 
pleasant  assembly,  to  whom  the  Scriptures  might  be 
expounded  ;  no  church  in  Zion's  court,  to  celebrate  the 
holy  supper.  But  when  independence  had  been 
gained,  and  peace  had  spread  her  holy  and  sweet 
influences  again,  men  returned  to  their  house  of  God, 
entered  in  and  kept  holy  day.  From  1785  to  1817, 
the  record  of  membership  continued  in  a  second 
volume  is  also  full ;  but  from  this  last  date  to  1837,  a 
period  of  twenty  years,  closing  the  ministry  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  we  have  no  mention  whatever  of  per- 
sons received  into  the  communion  of  this  church.  The 
space  allowed  for  such  entries  is  filled  up,  and  the 
record  breaks  off,  leaving  the  impression  that  it  was 


12 

transferred  to  some  other  book,  which  has  not  as  yet 
been  found. 

From  1837  to  1852,  it  is  much  obscured  by  marks 
and  interlineations  connected  with  the  dismissions  of 
members  to  form  the  South  Church.  From  1852, 
when  a  new  record  was  made  out,  it  is  complete  to  the 
present  time. 

The  third  Book  carefully  notes  the  officers  of  the 
consistory  in  the  order  of  their  installation,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  church  to  the  year  1790.  In  this 
period  of  nearly  one  hundred  years  great  accuracy  is 
visible.  It  shows  that  in  1697,  Abraham  De  Re- 
viere  was  elected  elder,  and  Jan  Ecker,  deacon ;  that 
the  next  year,  Ryck  Abramsse  and  Wolffert  Ecker 
(the  original  owner  and  occupant  of  the  house  lately  re- 
sided in,  and  rendered  famous  by  Irving  as  Wolffert's 
Roorst)  were  added  ;  that  two  elders  and  two  deacons 
continued  to  form  the  consistory  until  the  year  1736, 
when  their  number  was  doubled,  making,  as  at  pre- 
sent, eight  officers.  In  Book  fourth  is  a  record  of  Bap- 
tisms, giving  the  names  of  the  parents,  children  and 
witnesses,  with  the  periods  of  birth  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  rite,  complete  from  1697.  Even  the 
children  born  between  the  years  1775  and  1785  were 
in  many  instances  baptized,  and  their  baptism  recorded, 
at  the  close  of  that  period. 

The  fifth  is  a  record  of  Marriages,  and  like  that  of 
members  and  baptisms,  is  continued  from  1785  or  '90, 
in  a  second  and  even  third  volume  in  English. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  record  the  receipts  and  ex- 


13 

penses  of  the  deacons — and  the  eighth  is  simply  an 
index  to  the  preceding  books.  They  are  all  bonnd 
in  one  volume  in  parchment.  It  is  sadly  injured  and 
some  of  its  pages  are  nearly  obliterated  by  the  many 
and  careless  hands  through  which  it  has  been  suffered 
to  pass.     It  has  on  one  of  its  covers,  the  writing — 

"  Een  draght  rnackt  makt 
Maar  twist  verquist." 

This  motto  is  one  that  we  will  do  well  to  remember 
and  practice.  Our  fathers  borrowed  the  first  part  of 
it  from  the  United  Netherlands,  who,  more  than  a  cen- 
tury before  had  inscribed  it  on  their  banners,  and  risen 
by  their  adherence  to  it,  into  an  independent  and 
mighty  republic. 

The  emigrants  from  Holland  brought  it,  with  all  its 
deep  meaning  and  principle,  in  their  hearts  to  this 
country  and  infused  it  into  the  American  mind,  where 
it  gave  birth  in  time  to  "  our  own  much  more  exten- 
sive and  powerful  Union."  So  long  as  its  sacred  hold 
upon  the  affections  was  nowhere  impaired,  we  con- 
tinued one  mighty,  and  prosperous,  and  happy  nation. 
God  in  mercy  grant  that  we  may  become  thoroughly 
united  again  in  territory  and  in  heart,  and  never  forget 
in  any  part  of  the  land,  that 

Unity  makes  might, 
But  discord  squanders. 

I  am  able  to-day  to  present  you  with  an  exact  and 
faithful  translation  of  these  records,  by  one  of  our 
Theological  students,   Mr.  Louis  H.  Bahler,  formerly 


14 

of  the  Holland  Academy ;  and  we  are  happy  to  record 
the  names  of  Wm.  Hawes  and  Augustus  F.  Weeks, 
who  have  kindly  offered  the  necessary  means  to  secure 
the  binding  of  the  same,  and  also  of  the  original  writ- 
ing. 

The  above  facts  drawn  from  the  records  show  the 
existence  here,  of  a  church  sonnd  in  the  faith  and  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  favored  with  the  ordinances  of  grace, 
as  early  as  1697.  Two  years  later  we  find  this  people 
in  possession  of  a  stone  church  edifice.  Above  the 
doorway  is  inserted  a  tablet  bearing  the  inscription  : 
"  Erected  and  built  by  Frederick  Philipse  and  Cathar- 
ine Van  Cortlant  his  wife,  in  1699."  The  tablet  was 
inserted  many  years  after  the  building  of  the  house, 
and  probably  bears  the  date  of  the  building's  comple- 
tion. There  is  a  tradition  concerning  the  erection  of 
this  house  which  may  show  that  it  was  begun  as 
early,  at  least,  as  1694,  when  the  church  was  organized. 
As  related  by  one  of  the  most  excellent  of  our  now 
departed  members  it  is,  that  Mr.  Philipse,  aided  es- 
pecially by  his  wife  Catharine,  began  to  build  the 
church  edifice  two  or  three  years  before  he  finished  it ; 
that  he  laid  the  foundation,  and  then  began  to  repair 
the  dam  at  the  mill ;  that  when  the  dam  was  built  a 
freshet  came  one  night  and  washed  it  away ;  that  he 
then  erected  a  new  and  better  dam,  and  the  waters 
washed  it  all  away  again ;  that  while  he  and  family 
were  in  great  distress  about  their  loss,  his  old  slave 
Harry  had  a  dream,  and  for  several  nights  the  dream 
was  repeated,  to  the  following  purport — that  God  was 


15 

displeased  because  Master  Philipse  had  stopped  build- 
ing the  church  to  build  his  dam,  and  that  it  would 
never  stand  until  the  church  was  built ;  that  he  must 
now  go  on  and  build  the  church,  and  then  the  dam, 
and  it  would  stand.  Harry  told  this  dream  to  his  master 
and  mistress,  and  they  were  both  so  much  impressed 
by  it  that  they  built  the  church  and  then  the  dam, 
and  it  stood.  The  edifice,  however  small  and  unpre- 
tending in  architecture,  was  built  with  great  care,  and 
exceeded  in  some  of  its  materials  the  ability  of  the 
country  at  the  time  of  its  erection.  The  small  yellow 
brick,  a  few  of  which  are  still  retained  in  the  sides  of 
the  present  entrance,  were  brought  from  Holland,  and 
gracefully  set  above  the  original  door  in  the  South 
side,  and  around  the  windows.  The  windows  that 
were  originally  Gothic  have  been  enlarged  and  made 
square.  The  panes  of  glass  that  were  of  very  small 
size  have  been  changed  for  larger  ones ;  and  the  heavy 
cross-bars  of  iron  that  precluded  entrance,  even  when 
the  sashes  were  raised,  have  been  removed.  The  door 
has  been  transferred  to  the  west  end  facing  the  street. 
The  pulpit  Avas  in  form  a.  regular  octagon,  and  the 
sounding  board  a  regular  hexagon.  Both  were  small, 
for  the  most  part  of  mahogany,  and  brought  also  from 
the  fatherland.  They  have  been  taken  away  and  scat- 
tered, so  that  scarcely  a  vestige  of  them  can  be  found. 
The  ancient  gallery  on  the  north  side,  and  where  the 
fine  choir  of  Mr.  Purdy  once  stood  and  led  the  praise 
of  the  assembly,  is  taken  down,  and  that  on  the  wesl 
is  widened  and  extended  from  side  to  side.    Originally, 


16 

the  seats  were  benches,  with  the  exception  of  a  long 
and  elevated  one  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit,  covered 
with  a  rich  curtain  for  the  special  use  of  the  Philipse 
family.  It  is  said  that  Lord  Philipse  occupied  the  one 
and  his  wife  Catharine  the  other. 

At  the  close  of  the  revolution  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple had  undergone  a  great  change,  and  in  repairing  the 
edifice  they  rudely  tore  down  the  rich  awning,  pulled 
out  the  iron  supporters  from  the  wall,  and  made  the 
thrones,  as  they  were  called,  convenient  pews  for  the 
worthy  elders  and  deacons.  They  also  changed  the 
naked  benches  into  pews  for  the  congregation,  and  said 
they  would  have  no  lords  and  kings,  but  all  the  wor- 
shipers should  be  on  a  level.  The  characters  ^F 
cut  upon  the  vane  mounted  on  the  east  end  of  the 
building  are  the  initials  of  the  founder,  Vredryck 
Flypse.  The  bell  that  still  rings  out  so  shrill  was  cast 
according  to  order  in  Holland  in  1685,  and  bears  be- 
sides its  date  the  inscription,  "  Si  deus  pro  nobis,  quis 
contra  nos."  If  God  he  for  us  who  can  be  against  us  f 
Beautiful  expression,  and  worthy  of  being  sounded  out 
under  the  whole  heaven  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
Christian  heart.  Somewhat  developed,  it  cries  tri- 
umphantly in  every  believer :  "  If  as  our  Judge  God 
is  satisfied ;  if  as  our  Father  He  loves  us ;  if  as  the 
Controller  of  all  events  He  will  make  all  things  to 
work  together  for  our  good ;  if,  in  a  word,  all  He  is, 
and  has,  and  does,  is  for  us,  His  people, — who  can  be 
against  us  ?  who  rationally  against  us  ?  who  success- 
fully against  us?  who  of  all  the  conquered  enemies  of 


17 


the  cross  can  safely  be  against  ns  in  our  progress  to 
ward  Heaven?7'  The  communion  table  and  service 
were  ordered  at  the  same  time.  The  table  when  drawn 
out,  as  it  was  in  ancient  times,  for  the  guests  who  came 
up  in  small  companies  and  sat  around  it,  filled  all  the 
open  space  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  It  is  massive  oak 
inlaid  with  ebony.  Some  years  since,  when  the  pulpit 
and  sounding  board  were  taken  down,  it  was  removed 
and  placed  with  them  in  the  rear  of  the  house.  It  was 
there  purchased  of  consistory  by  Judge  Constant  for 
the  sum  of  $25.  Subsequently,  when  the  workmen 
had  finished,  the  church  had  need  of  their  ancient  ar- 
ticle of  furniture,  and  no  little  dissatisfaction  being  ex- 
pressed at  their  loss,  James  Paulding  generously 
purchased  it  at  the  price  paid  for  it  by  Judge  Constant, 
restored  it  to  its  original  beauty  at  an  additional 
expense  of  fifteen  dollars,  and  returned  it,  where  it  has 
ever  since  been  held  in  higher  and  more  general  appre- 
ciation. 

The  service,  consisting  of  one  plate,  two  beakers  and 
baptismal  bowl,  are  of  silver,  and  of  the  finest  make 
and  character.  The  plate  is  unusually  large  and  heavy 
The  beakers,  or  cups,  are  about  seven  inches  high,  and 
richly  engraved.  The  one  bears  the  name  of  Fredryck 
Flypse,  and  the  other  of  Catharina  Van  Cortlant.  The 
bowl  is  eight  inches  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  is  also 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  Fredryck  Flypse.  It  was 
at  first  oval  on  the  bottom,  and  was  placed  in  a  socket 
extended  from  the  pulpit.  When  the  South  Church 
was  built  no  socket  was  provided,  and  because  the 
2 


18 

bowl  did  not  stand  firmly  alone,  but  rocked  from  any 
slight  motion,  a  rim  was  placed  upon  it.  If  this  were 
removed  it  would  be  restored  to  its  original  character. 
This  bowl,  with  one  of  the  beakers  bearing  her  name, 
the  communion  table,  and  damask  cloth  of  specified 
dimensions,  were  given  by  will  of  Mrs.  Phil  ipse,  in 
1730,  to  her  son-in-law,  Adolph  Philipse,  "in  trust  to 
and  for  the  congregation  of  the  Dutch  Church,  erected 
at  Philipsburgh  by  her  husband,  deceased,  according 
to  the  Synod  of  Dort." 

The  frequent  and  honorable  mention  made  of  Mrs. 
Catharina  Philipse  in  your  history  shows  that  she  was 
no  ordinary  disciple  of  Christ.  She  relieved  her  hus- 
band of  the  care  and  labor  of  building  the  church  edi- 
fice, riding,  it  is  said,  on  horseback  from  New  York, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  business,  to  superintend  the 
work.  The  probability,  however,  is,  that  she  rode  only 
from  Yonkers,  where  Mr.  Philipse  resided  before  re- 
moving to  Tarrytown.  She  also  used  her  means  to 
send  for  and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  bringing  the 
minister  from,  and  returning  him  to  his  home  in,  Hack- 
ingsack,  several  times  in  a  year,  for  a  period  of  nearly 
twenty  years.  When  she  had  filled  up  her  day  in  use- 
fulness, and  ripened  for  Heaven,  she  fell  asleep  in  Jesus, 
and  was  buried  in  a  vault  under  the  floor  of  the  edifice 
she  had  so  nobly  erected.  Some  years  since,  when  the 
floor  was  torn  up  for  repairs,  two  antiquarians  ap- 
peared in  the  neighborhoood,  and  were  exceedingly 
anxious  to  go  in  and  see  the  final  resting  place  of  this 
excellent  woman.    It  was  suspected,  however,  that  they 


19 

were  more  anxious  to  see  the  silver  plate  believed  to 
be  on  her  coffin.  Before  night  set  in  the  leading 
workmen  had  arranged  that  the  whole  weight  of  the 
floor,  and  as  mnch  as  possible  of  the  building  itself, 
should  forever  rest  on  the  entrance  to  her  tomb.  Mrs. 
Philipse  and  the  silver  plate  are  still  there. 

The  farther  history  of  this  church  will  impress  you 
that  God  has  dwelt  in  it  in  an  eminent  degree.  From 
1697  to  1775  there  were  received  into  its  communion, 
on  confession  of  their  faith,  330  persons.  From  1785 
to  1817  there  were  added  307  persons ;  and  from  1837 
to  the  present  date,  336,  making  in  all  973  souls. 
The  ministry  of  Mr.  Smith  was  very  successful,  and 
the  probability  is,  that  if  the  last  twenty  years  of  his 
harvesting  were  registered,  they  would  increase  the 
number  to  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  persons  who 
have  gathered  here  for  the  first  time  at  the  table  of 
our  Lord.  Of  this  number  two  have  entered  the  min- 
istry, Jacob  C.  Dutcher,  late  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Protestant  Dutch  Church  in  Market  street,  and  George 
Rockwell,  our  excellent  and  self-denying  missionary  in 
the  Church  of  the  Thousand  Isles.  We  may  here  add 
that  Alexander  Watson,  first  a  deacon,  and  then 
an  elder,  in  this  church,  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel  by  the  Classis  of  Westchester,  in  1857,  and 
Herman  Schnellendreussler,  at  first  a  successful  mis- 
sionary to  the  Germans  in  Albany,  and  afterwards  a 
faithful  chaplain  in  the  army,  was  carried  through 
his  theological  course  at  New  Brunswick  by  funds 
raised  for  the  most  part  among  you.     The  blessing  of 


20 

God  has  rested  very  greatly  upon  the  efforts  of  your 
ministers  to  build  up  Zion.  This  will  appear  as  we 
proceed  to  trace  your  further  history  as  a  church 
under  their  care.  The  first  of  the  nine,  Rev.  Guil- 
liaume  Bartholf,  who  ministered  here  from  1697  to  at 
least  April  18th,  1716,  gathered  many  souls  into  the 
kingdom.  He  was  bom  in  this  country,  but  went  to 
Holland  to  be  educated.  He  was,  in  all  his  labors 
here,  as  well  as  at  Hackensack,  where  he  lived,  held  in 
very  high  esteem.  His  immediate  successor  is  not 
known.  The  records  show  that  the  church  enjoyed 
the  services  of  a  minister,  and  that  additions  were 
made  to  it,  especially  in  the  spring  and  fall  of  almost 
every  year. 

Next  we  hear  of  the  Rev.  Johannes  Ritzema.  He 
was  educated  in  Holland,  and  labored  much  of  the 
time  in  New  York  city,  from  1744  to  1784,  when  he 
was  declared  Emeritus.  His  name  appears  frequently 
on  the  minutes  of  the  Coetus,  the  Conferentia?,  the 
Convention,  and  the  General  Synod ;  and  he  seems  to 
have  been  honored  more  than  any  of  his  contempora- 
ries in  the  Church  with  offices  of  position  and  trust. 
When  this  learned  and  excellent  man  became  your 
pastor,  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn.  From  a  state- 
ment of  his  own,  we  know  that  he  was  the  minister 
at  Philipsburgh,  as  well  as  at  Harlem,  the  Manor  of 
Fordham,  and  the  Manor  of  Cortlant,  in  1755;  and 
from  other  sources  of  information  we  gather  that  he 
continued  to  minister  to  this  church  until  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Revolution. 


21 

The  Church  of  Cortlant,  before  mentioned,  and  now 
called  Cortlandtown,  was  early  formed  from  this 
church  of  Philipsburgh.  In  1717  the  respective  in- 
habitants of  the  Manor  of  Cortlant  and  Philips  united, 
"  as  had  been  resolved  by  common  consent,  to  support 
religious  services  in  the  Church  of  Philipsburgh."  Tt 
was  agreed  that  the  "  former  should  pay  one  fourth, 
and  the  latter  the  three  other  parts  of  the  salary,  and 
that  they  should  henceforth  be  together  as  one  church, 
and  be  noted  together  in  the  book  of  church  minutes." 
Your  pastor  accordingly  entered  upon  your  record  at 
that  time  the  names  of  twenty-six  persons,  as  "  mem- 
bers living  on  the  Manor  of  Cortlant,  and  patent 
of  Capt.  De  Pay  and  Byck  Abramsen. 

"Firstly — Seybout  Herrickson  and  Maritje  his 
wife ;  Jan  Herri ckse  Kranckheyt  and  Grietje  his 
wife ;  Brackey  De  Punmathys  Brouwer  and  Maritje 
his  wife  ;  Nathan  Beeley  and  Esther  his  wife  ;  Catha- 
rina  Van  Texel,  wife  of  Hendrick  Lent ;  Grietje 
Brouwer,  wife  of  Samuel  Brouwer;  Hendrick  Lent 
and  Cornelia  his  wife  ;  William  Van  Texel  and  Weyntje 
his  wife  ;  Antje  Sybout,  wife  of  Jan  Beesly ;  Maria 
Pun,  wife  of  Abraham  Lent ;  Aeltje  Brouwer,  wife 
of  Jenriaen  "Woll;  Thunis  Kranckheyt  and  Sophia 
his  wife;  Willem  Teller  and  Maritje  his  wife  ;  Jeremy 
Ceuniff  and  Antje  his  wife  ;  Maritje,  wife  of  Corne- 
lius Michgielyen." 

There  are  also  to  be  seen  noted  here  the  names  of 
persons  united  in  the  marriage  relation  in  Cortland- 
town, from  170G  to  1756,  after  which  the  residence  of 


22 

the  parties  was  for  a  few  years  only  partially  given, 
and  then  entirely  omitted.  There  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  clerk  of  that  consistory,  a  manuscript  volume 
entitled  "  A  Church  Register  for  the  MaDor  of  Yan 
Cortlandt,"  in  which  is  recorded  the  names  of  infants 
baptized,  with  those  of  the  parents  and  witnesses, 
from  1741  to  1747,  and  again  from  1774  to  the  present 
time.  Mr.  Bolton,  in  his  history  of  Westchester 
county,  says  of  this  register,  which  he  saw  some 
nineteen  years  ago :  "  The  first  entry  occurs  June  3d, 
1729  ;  'baptized  Teunis,  the  son  of  Hendrick  Brower 
and  Jannetje  Crankheit.'  "  He  also  gives  the  following 
minute,  which  we  once  saw :  "  The  28th  day  of  June, 
1760,  ordained  as  consistory,  Hermanus  Gardinier, 
Abraham  Van  Tessel,  as  elders,  and  Abraham  Lent  as 
deacon."  These  facts  render  it  j^robable  that  the 
church  on  Cortlant  manor  was  organized  but  a  few 
years  later  than  this  at  Philipsburgh,  but  that  having 
no  house  of  worship  and  no  pastor,  it  depended  very 
much  upon  this  for  the  public  means  of  grace ;  was 
intimately  associated  with  it  for  many  years,  and  con- 
tributed its  part  to  sustain  the  service.  They  render 
it  also  probable  that  at  different  periods,  beginning 
with  1729,  some  one  of  their  consistory  would  attempt 
a  recoi'd  of  what  was  done  of  an  ecclesiastical  character 
among  them. 

At  an  early  period  they  had  given  to  them  by  the 
Yan  Cortlants,  150  acres  on  what  is  commonly  known 
as  Montross  Point.  Just  over  the  northern  boundary 
of  this,  and   on  the  bank   of  the  river,  they  built  a 


23 

church  edifice.  We  may  suppose  it  was  there  when 
Mr.  Ritzema  was  the  minister  in  1755.  It  was  burned 
by  the  British  in  the  Resolution,  and  the  resting- 
places  of  the  dead  around  it  falling  into  the  hands  of 
private  claimants,  have  long  since  been  undermined 
by  the  brick-maker,  and  carried  away.  Without 
house  or  pastor,  this  church  fast  declined.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Jackson  was  appointed  in  April,  1792,  to  visit 
them  and  report  their  state  to  classis.  He  did  so, 
reporting  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  that  they  il  had 
lost  their  church,  diminished  in  numbers  and  greatly 
dispersed."  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  the  Rev- 
Gr.  A.  Kuypers  and  Peter  Stiyker,  each  with  an  elder, 
were  appointed  to  visit  them,  "  in  order  to  organize  a 
consistory,  and  to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  the 
edification  of  the  congregation. "  Almost  all  the  clas- 
sis and  all  the  candidates  under  the  care  of  classis, 
visited  the  church  in  its  low  state  from  1792-1798. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Jackson  preached  for  them  on  several 
occasions,  and  contributed  very  greatly  by  his  labors 
to  its  re- establishment.  Their  minutes  show -their  or- 
ganization in  the  election  of  three  elder3  and  three 
deacons,  on  October  22d,  1793,  and  their  ordination 
on  April  21st  of  the  next  year.  On  December  30th, 
1794,  they  were  incorporated,  and  the  following  year 
Mr.  William  Cockroft  deeded  to  them  "  one  acre,  two 
quarters  and  three  rods  of  land  for  six  shillings  lawful 
money  paid."  In  this  connection,  the  books  show  a 
reservation  made  of  sittings  for  ten  persons  of  his 
family.     On  the  above  beautiful   eminence  touching 


24 

the  west  side  of  the  Albany  and  New  York  post  road, 
three  miles  from  Peekskill,  and  a  mile,  at  least,  south- 
east of  Montross  Point,  they  erected  their  present 
house  of  worship.    While  they  were  without  an  edifice 

they  worshipped  in  barns.  In  one  of  these  they  gath- 
ered soon  after  the  close  of  the  war' and  celebrated  the 
Lord's  Supper.  On  that  occasion,  the  officer  to  whom 
had  been  committed  for  safe-keeping  the  collections, 
and  the  grand  tankard  and  beaker,  and  communion 
cloth,  brought  them  all  out  from  their  hiding-place, 
and  laid  them,  the  bag  of  cents  among  them,  on  the 
table.  "  It  was/'  said  the  relator,  "  a  most  precious 
season  to  us  all."  The  classis  continued  to  supply  the 
church  until  the  spring  of  1800,  since  which  time  the 
following  persons  have  ministered  to  it  as  pastors  : 
William  Manley,'  from  May  8th,  1800,  to  1806 ;  Abra- 
ham Hoffman,  from  March  27th,  1810,  to  1830  ;  Robert 
Rickwood,  from  October  21st,  1831,  to  1836;  Corne- 
lius D.  Westbrook,  from  July,  1836,  to  1850;  Samuel 
Lock  wood,  from  November  14th,  1850,  to  December 
18th,  1852  ;  John  B.  Steele,  from  1853,  to  1858;  Mr. 
St.  John,  supply,  November,  1858,  to  the  winter  of 
1864  and  '65 ;  and  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Anderson  as  pastor 
elect,  from  May,  1865,  until  April,  1866. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Hoffman  resided  on  the  original 
church  farm ;  a  property  which  to-day,  without  its  im- 
provements, would  bring  from  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  all  sold 
under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Dr.  Westbrook,  for  $2,750. 
Part  of  this  sum  went  to  pay  the  salary ;  a  little  of  it 


25 

was  given  to  the  church  in  Peekskill,  erected  in  1837 ; 
and  the  balance,  about  $1,500,  was  wisely  laid  out  in 
the  purchase  of  ten  or  twelve  acres  of  land,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  a  neat  parsonage  near  their  church  edifice.  The 
encumbrance  on  this  is  about  $1,400.  The  whole 
property  over  the  indebtedness  is  safely  valued  at 
$5,000.  This  church  is  established  in  a  delightful 
country  region,  and  forms  an  inviting  field  of  labor  to 
a  prudent  and  earnest  minister  of  Jesus.  It  was  placed 
by  the  Particular  Synod  of  1863  under  the  care  of  the 
Classis  of  Westchester.  They  gave  to  it  as  it  needed 
their  immediate  attention.  They  will  doubtless  con- 
tinue to  look  after  it,  and  seek  to  have  it,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  the  use  of  the  proper  means,  enter 
on  a  course  of  prosperity.  The  Church  of  Peekskill 
mentioned  above,  was  originally  Congregational.  In 
1831,  being  without  a  pastor  and  much  in  debt,  it 
made  overtures  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Cort- 
landtown,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Robert  Rickwood.  # 
These  as  accepted  were,  that  the  pastor  of  the  latter 
should  preach  part  of  the  time  at  Peekskill  and 
administer  the  sacraments,  and  that  his  church  at  Cort- 
landtown  should  hold  all  the  members,  and  assume 
all  the  debts  and  property  of  the  church  at  Peekskill. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Westbrook  succeeded  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Rickwood  in  1830,  and  for  fourteen  years  seems  to 
have  occupied  the  same  position  as  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Cortlandtown,  and  preached  a  part  of  the  time  at 
Peekskill. 

In  1839  the  consistory  of  the  church  at  Cortland- 


26 

town  built  a  chapel  in  Peekskill,  and  on  September  1, 
1850,  a  committee,  by  order  of  the  South  Classis  of 
New  York,  organized  the  First  R.  D.  Church,  of  that 
place  with  seven  members,  two  of  whom  were  chosen 
for  its  elders.  In  the  spring  of  1851  God-  sent  to 
this  feeble  church  as  her  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Charles 
D.  Buck.  Under  his  able  ministry  and  sacrificing 
devotion  to  his  work,  responded  to,  more  and  more,  by 
his  people  in  each  succeeding  year,  she  now,  in  May, 
1866,  "  comes  up  from  the  wilderness  "  of  doubts  and 
trials  "leaning  upon  her  beloved  Saviour,"  possessed 
of  a  beautiful  property  worth  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  free  of  debt,  and  "rejoicing  as  a  strong  man 
to  run  a  race." 

A  call  of  your  church  upon  the  Rev.  Stephen  Van 
Voorhees,  of  Rhinebeck,  was  approved  of  by  the 
Synod,  May  17,  1785.  On  the  25th  of  September,  he, 
as  pastor,  baptized  Lovine,  daughter  of  Solomon 
rHauws  and  Lovine  Hammon,  in  English,  and  his  ad- 
ministration of  the  ordinance  in  that  form  gave  great 
offence  to  the  congregation.  He  kept  all  his  records 
in  English.  Besides  ministering  to  this  people,  he 
preached  also,  "  by  unanimous  agreement  of  Consistory 
on  every  fourth,  and  sometimes  on  every  third  Sab- 
bath, at  Sing  Sing" — that  is,  as  we  know  from  reliable 
sources,  in  the  house  of  worship  then  standing  in  the 
burying  ground  near  the  post  road,  and  about  a  mile 
south  of  the  present  corporate  limits  of  Sing  Sing. 
He  was  the  first  candidate  examined  and  licensed  by 
the  Independent  American  Synod,  meeting  in  October, 


27 

1772.  He  ministered  here  about  three  years,  and  we 
are  happy  to  know  that  one  of  the  most  intelligent,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  ripest  of  the  departed  Christians  of 
our  place,  Mr.  William  Requaw,  of  the  Methodist 
church,  spoke  of  him  as  being  a  very  excellent 
preacher  and  very  worthy  man. 

He  resided  on  the  corner  of  the  post  road  and  the 
north  side  of  Main  street.  "  Young  Requaw,"  as  he 
was  then  called,  was  thrown  into  his  society  every 
day,  and  was  aided  in  his  search  for  knowledge  with 
books  and  personal  instruction,  and  when  he  became 
the  venerable  "  Uncle  Billy  Requaw,"  and  was  going 
down  to  the  grave  full  of  honors  from  his  church  and 
county,  he  often  gratefully  referred  to  his  early  friend 
and  instructor.  But  what  a  change  in  religious  feel- 
ings does  one  feature  of  this  history  call  to  mind  ! 
Eighty  years  ago  a  gifted  and  holy  minister  of  Jesus 
baptized  a  child  in  English  in  yonder  old  house  of 
God,  and  almost  all  the  good  people  of  the  community 
were  off ended  at  the  innovation. 

Oh,  that  our  Dutch  Fathers  had  not  clung  so  obsti- 
nately to  their  language  in  religious  services !  God 
grant  that  their  descendants,  seeing  this  former  weight 
to  our  progress  as  a  denomination  recorded  on  the 
page  of  history,  may  take  warning  from  it,  and  never, 
in  all  our  future,  be  so  short-sighted  in  any  of  our 
important  ecclesiastical  matters. 

Rev.  John  F.  Jackson,  spoken  of  in  our  remarks 
concerning  the  Church  of  Cortlandtown,  began  his 
ministry  here    and   at   Harlem  in  the  fall  of  1791. 


28 

These  churches  formed  his  first  and  united  charge, 
and  he  continued  in  it  until  the  spring  of  1806.  He 
was  called  to  Fordham  in  1819,  where  he  died  as 
pastor  in  1835. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Kev.  Thomas  G.  Smith, 
January  26,  1808.  He  was  a  noble  specimen  of  a 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body.  Able  to  endure,  both 
mentally  and  physically,  far  more  than  most  men,  he 
preached  extensively,  and  for  many  years  with  great 
success.  With  his  labors  in  Greenburgh  Church,  from 
1812  to  1820,  many  of  you  are  familiar.  It  is  now 
acknowledged  on  all  sides,  that  there  he  was  greatly 
persecuted.  In  the  trial  to  which  he  was  subjected 
his  enemies  met  with  a  perfect  defeat  at  the  hands  of 
his  counsel,  the  late  Minott  Mitchell,  of  White  Plains. 
When  he  preached  his  last  sermon  he  uttered  the 
words,  "  Your  house  shall  be  left  unto  you  desolate." 
They  were  received  by  the  community  as  a  true 
prophecy,  although  at  that  time,  and  for  years  previous 
under  his  ministry,  the  house  had  overflowed  with 
people  in  earnest  attendance,  and  they  were  considered 
by  some  as  actually  fulfilled  a  few  years  afterwards, 
when  the  Presbytery  refused  to  spend  any  more  money 
upon  the  church,  and  the  house  was  closed.  Your 
present  pastor,  by  special  invitation,  preached  the 
first  sermon  of  a  nearly  two  years'  ministry  in  it  on  a 
beautiful  afternoon  in  June,  1848,  to  fifteen  persons, 
one  third  of  whom  were  children.  But  we  do  not 
attribute  the  decline  of  this  church  so  much  to  the 
curse  pronounced  on  it  by  Mr.  Smith,  as  we  do  to  the 


29 


frequent  ecclesiastical  relations  through  which,  as  we 
shall  show  hereafter,  it  was  made  to  pass,  and  the  drink- 
ing habits  of  those  days,  that  had  much  to  do,  in  some 
parts  of  Westchester  county,  with  Zion's  reproach  and 
desolations.  Driven  from  Greenburgh,  Mr.  Smith  en- 
tered immediately,  and  more  fully  than  he  had  before 
done,  as  a  preacher  at  Unionville.  There  he  organ- 
ized the  Dutch  Church,  by  direction  of  the  Classis 
of  New  York,  in  1820;  and  in  a  house  of  worship, 
erected  the  same  year,  he  continued  to  preach  until 
near  the  close  of  his  ministry.  Following  him,  the 
Rev.  John  Moule  labored  as  pastor  of  the  church  for 
about  two  years ;  and  the  Rev.  John  Robb,  as  supply, 
a  few  months.  No  one  of  these  men  left  any  church 
records.  Fortunately,  however,  for  its  history,  the 
Rev.  Win.  S.  Moore,  a  graduate  of  our  theological  semi- 
nary, was  called  in  1839  to  be  its  pastor.  He  made  a 
record  of  the  names  of  such  as  seemed  entitled  to 
church  membership,  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubois  had  done 
a  year  or  two  previously  of  the  church  at  Tarry  town, 
and  from  that  day  its  progress,  by  its  minutes  kept 
by  its  three  pastors — Wm.  S.  Moore,  settled  in  1839  ; 
J.  L.  See,  in  1850 ;  Wm.  S.  Moore,  in  1856 ;  and  Wm. 
E.  Bogardus,  in  1865 — can  be  easily  traced. 

In  1821  and  1822  Mr.  Smith  preached  on  every 
second  and  third  Sabbath  in  the  village  of  White 
Plains.  His  labors  there  were  of  a  missionary  charac- 
ter. The  Presbyterian  Church  edifice  had  been  burnt 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  congregation  had  de- 
clined, and  enjoyed  only  occasional    preaching  from 


30 

some  traveling  minister.  Mr.  Smith  preached  in  the 
Court-house.  His  audiences  were  large.  A  new  house 
for  worship,  and  a  reorganization  of  the  church  were 
contemplated.  Mr.  Smith  left,  and  in  181,4,  after  the 
slight  labors  of  two  or  three  ministers,  the  church  was 
reorganized  with  six  members,  and  the  next  year  the 
contemplated  house  was  dedicated.  Both  the  re- 
organization and  dedication  vwere  by  the  Presbyterian 
denomination.  The  church  owes,  however,  more  for 
its  existence  to  Thomas  G.  Smith,  at  that  time  the 
pastor  of  the  Dutch  churches  of  Tarry  town  and 
Unionville,  than  to  any  other  human  instrumentality. 
When  Mr.  Smith  closed  his  labors  in  White 
Plains  he  began  them  especially  in  Dobbs  Ferry.  For 
years  he  had,  on  week  days,  and  sometimes  on  the  Sab- 
bath, been  the  chief  preacher  in  all  that  vicinity. 
Crowds  attended  on  his  preaching.  Among  other 
places,  he  often  preached  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Odell, 
whom  he  would  distinguish  from  others  of  that  name, 
when  giving  out  his  notice  in  the  Church  at  Tarry- 
town,  as  Mr.  Odell,  the  father  of  all  the  Odells.  While 
he  was  thus  engaged  in  a  field  that  seemed  entirely  his 
own,  a  Presbyterian  church  was  organized,  and  soon 
after  a  house  of  public  worship  for  the  same  was  erected 
and  dedicated.  It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Smith  was  pleased 
with  this  result,  as  he  was  himself  of  Presbyterian 
training  and  association,  and  no  earnest  efforts  at  ex- 
tension were  being  put  forth  at  that  time  by  the  Dutch 
Church.  Through  all  these  fields  of  his  labor,  and 
with   all  the  opportunities  which  his  popularity  as  a 


31 

preacher  gave  him,  he  organized  but  one  church  of  our 
denomination.  On  the  whole  subject  of  church  exten- 
sion no  man  was  ever  like  Whit  en*  eld  to  preach,  and, 
unlike  Wesley,  to  gather  and  hold  the  fruits  of  his 
preaching.  In  dress  and  manners  he  was  careless  and 
even  slovenly.  In  company,  however,  he  was  genial 
and  much  sought.  In  love  of  Christ  he  was  earnest, 
and  in  labors  most  abundant.  He  sleeps  at  the  rear 
of  the  church  edifice  in  which,  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  he  ministered  so  well. 

He  was  succeeded,  in  1838,  by  Rev.  George  Dubois. 
This  excellent  man  had  nearly  worn  himself  out  with 
the  labors  of  writing  and  committing  to  memory  two 
sermons  a  week  for  the  period  of  eighteen  years,  while 
pastor  of  the  Dutch  Church  in  Franklin  street.     In 
this  state  he  sought  a  change  from  the  city  to  the 
country,  and  was  in   God's  kind  providence  called  to 
Tarrytown.     At  the  first  meeting  of  consistory,  over 
which  he  presided,  it  was  resolved  according  to  an  un- 
derstanding had  with  him  before  accepting  your  call, 
to  build  a  new  church  edifice  in  Tarrytown,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  accomplish  the  object  of  the 
resolution.     In  the  meantime,  the  necessity  for  church 
accommodation  in  the  village  became  so  apparent,  that 
the  consistory  hired  the  old  Methodist  Church  edifice 
with  the  special  purpose  of  holding  evening  service 
through  the  winter.     Two  thousand  and  thirty-two 
dollars  and  eighty-six  cents,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  re- 
port of  John  R.  Stephens,  were  paid  in  January,  1838, 
for  repairs  on  the  old  church,  and  between  six  and 


32 

seven  thousand  dollars  laid  out  in  the  "building  of  the 
South  Church  and  parsonage,  exclusive  of  the  lecture- 
room  and  of  the  entire  ground,  which  was  a  gift  by 
deed  from  Abraham  Storms.  Of  the  $2,032.86,  Mr. 
William  Landrine  raised  by  subscription,  and  paid, 
$761.75.  The  balance,  $1,271.11,  was  carried  for- 
ward to  the  debt  of  the  new  buildings,  making  in 
all,  with  interest  and  incidental  expenses,  nearly 
$8,000 ;  of  this  sum,  $3,000  and  upwards  were  realized 
from  the  sale  of  lands,  and  $4,500  were  raised  by  sub- 
scription by  John  Mildeberger,  Abraham  D.  Stephens 
and  the  pastor.  Besides  these  large  outlays,  the 
church,  at  this  point  in  its  history,  increased  its  salary 
three-fold,  raising  it  from  $300  to  $700  and  a  house, 
and  it  continued  to  pay  the  salary  of  its  pastor  prompt- 
ly year  after  year.  In  the  morning  he  preached  in  the 
North,  and  in  the  afternoon  in  the  South  Church,  as 
these  houses  of  worship  were  called.  His  previous  ex- 
perience and  preparation,  together  with  his  undoubted 
piety  and  solemn  manner,  as  of  one  who  always  seemed, 
in  his  feeble  health,  to  be  preaching  his  last  sermon, 
gave  him  great  success.  He  visited  but  little  in  his  con- 
gregation, but  attended  to  all  his  pulpit  duties  and  spe- 
cial appointments  with  great  fidelity.  Soon  after  his 
settlement,  several  of  his  former  parishioners  in  the  city, 
but  now  living  in  Greenburgh  and  at  Tuckahoe,  and 
coming  occasionally  to  sit  under  his  ministry,  invited 
him  to  visit  their  community,  to  preach  and  give  his 
opinion  concerning  the  propriety  of  their  uniting  to 
form  a  church.     He  did  so,  preaching  at  the  house  of 


33 

Monmouth  Hart,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  the  present 
Moringville  station  on  the  New  York  and  Harlem  rail- 
road. Here  he  met  John  and  Charles  and  Richard 
Dusenberry,  Ichabod  Smith  and  Benjamin  Carpenter, 
all  of  whom  were  anxious  to  secure  to  their  families  and 
neighborhood  an  increase  of  church  privileges.  The 
region  in  which  many  of  them  lived  was  next  to  hea- 
then. It  lay  about  midway  between  the  two  great 
contending  armies  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was 
a  portion  of  what  was  known  as  u  neutral  ground.'' 
Tt  had  been  overrun  repeatedly  by  thieving  bands 
stealing  from  defenceless  citizens,  and  especially  from 
one  opposing  party  to  sell  to  the  other,  till  piety,  mo- 
rality and  patriotism  were  well-nigh  driven  without 
its  limits.  Among  its  characters  was  a  noted  Tory, 
named  Nathaniel  Underhill,  who,  among  his  many 
cruel  deeds,  murdered,  in  the  most  brutal  manner,  the 
earnest  patriot  Isaac  Martling.  For  this,  he  was  es- 
pecially despised  by  his  kindred,  and  by  all  others 
who  supported  the  American  cause.  They  erected  a 
stone  in  your  burying  ground,  which  still  stands  a  little 
to  the  north-east  of  the  church  building,  bearing  the 
inscription — 

In  Memory  of 

Mr.  Isaac  Martling, 

who  was  inhumanly  slain  by 

Nathaniel  Underhill,  May  26th,  A.  D.,  1779, 

In  the  39th  year  of  his  age. 

In  this  region,  so  overrun  and  blighted  by  Toryism, 
and  naturally  slow  in  regaining  its  former  excellence, 
Mr.  Dubois  encouraged  his  friends  to  unite,  to  labor 
3 


34 


and  form  a  church  of  Christ.  At  his  request,  all  the 
large  Classis  of  New  York  came  and  preached,  each  in 
his  turn  once  or  twice  during  the  year  in  aid  of  the 
undertaking.  The  first  preacher  was  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  A.  Van  Vranken,  and  the  place  of  meeting, 
the  tavern  of  Mr.  Gilbert  Underbill.  There  bur  dear 
brother  and  teacher  lifted  up  his  powerful  voice,  and 
poured  forth  from  his  warm  heart,  Gospel  truth  and 
supplication  for  the  building  up  of  Zion.  The  gener- 
ous landlord,  that  he  niiorht  give  no  offence  to  anv  of 


o 


any 


his  guests  either  on  that  or  the  following  occasions, 
regularly  suspended  a  blanket  in  front  of  the  bar  be- 
fore the  hour  of  service,  and  took  it  down  again  at  the 
close.  He  afterwards  gave  ground  for  a  church  edifice 
and  burying  ground,  and  in  later  years  could  be  seen 
in  company  with  his  wife  and  many  others,  in  that  now 
moral  and  Christian  community,  celebrating  the  love 
of  Jesus  at  his  holy  supper.  Adjoining  the  church- 
grounds  stands  a  pleasant  parsonage  presented  to  the 
church  a  few  years  since,  by  its  life-long  friend  and 
supporter,  Charles  Dusenberry.  In  the  infancy  of 
this  enterprise  a  conversation  held  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dubois 
with  a  citizen  of  Yonkers,  while  he  was  on  his  wray  to 
the  meeting  of  classis,  led  him  to  ask  and  to  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  brethren  to  preach  in  that  place,  and 
at  Greenville  on  the  same  Sabbath.  The  result  of  his 
efforts  now  appears  in  the  self-sustaining,  growing 
churches  of  Greenville  and  Yonkers.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Hulbert  was  the  first  and  very  successful  pastor  of 
these  churches.     The  latter  made  a  most  determined 


35 

effort  to  leave  our  denomination  in  1852.  A  full  re- 
port of  the  transaction  is  contained  on  the  minutes  of 
the  Classis  of  Westchester,  and  in  one  of  the  numbers 
of  the  Christian  Intelligencer  of  that  year.  Had  the 
seceding  party  in  the  church  of  Schenectady,  or  still 
later  in  that  of  Philadelphia,  read  the  report  of  the  se- 
ceders  in  Yonkers,  neither  of  them  would  have  ever  at- 
tempted their  stupendous  blunder. 

In  the  summer  of  1865  Mr.  Hulbert  was  called  to 
build  up  a  new  church  at  White  Plains.  From 
the  time  of  his  settlement  he  has  earnestly  devoted 
himself  to  his  work,  and  is  already  surrounded  by  a 
congregation  of  numbers  and  strength.  The  Rev. 
Professor  Cole,  of  Rutger's  College,  succeeded  him  at 
Yonkers ;  and  we  are  happy  to  learn  that  he  also  is 
meeting  with  encouragement.  In  the  fall  of  1846 
the  Church  of  Greenville,  consisting  of  seventeen  mem- 
bers, and  able,  by  great  effort,  to  contribute  $250  to- 
wards the  salary,  called  me  to  be  its  pastor.  I  never 
knew  why  I  chose  that  field  of  labor,  unless  it  was 
through  a  somewhat  singular  ambition  excited  in  me 
to  carry  out  the  suggestion  contained  in  a  shrewd  re- 
mark of  the  elder,  under  whose  roof  I  lodged,  that 
"the  best  way  for  a  young  minister  to  obtain  a 
good  settlement  was  to  take  the  poorest  place  he  could 
find,  and  make  it  the  best  place.11  The  first  part  of 
this  temptation  I  certainly  entered  fully  upon.  In  the 
second  or  third  year  of  my  pastorate,  the  afternoon 
service  was  brought  forward  to  the  morning,  and  the 
seats   were   rented.     These    were   considered    violent 


36 

changes,  and  for  a  time  threatened  the  destruction  of 
the  church.  But  it  lived,  and  really  began  a  sound 
growth  from  that  day.  In  the  month  of  June,  1848, 
I  was  invited  to  preach  in  the  afternoon  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Greenburgh,  at  the  junction  of 
the  Saw-mill  river  and  Tarrytown  and  White  Plains 
road.  The  attendance  gradually  increased,  and  a  few 
months  later  the  church,  by  unanimous  resolve,  made 
a  change  of  its  relations  from  the  Bedford  Presbytery, 
who  declined  to  aid  it  any  more,  to  the  Classis  of  New 
York.  The  public  records  show  that  this  church  has 
had  several  incorporations.  First,  as  a  Presbyterian 
or  Congregational,  in  1790,  under  the  Westchester  As- 
sociation, an  irregular  Presbyterian  judicatory,  long 
since  extinct ;  second,  as  Congregational ;  third,  as 
Presbyterian,  incorporated  several  times,  and  fourth,  as 
a  "Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church.  Its  experience 
has  been  much  like  that  of  the  church  at  Sing  Sing. 
Both  were  afflicted,  at  different  times  in  their  history, 
by  the  Westchester  County  Association ;  and,  after 
years  of  trouble  and  change,  the  latter  found  rest  in 
uniting  with  the  Presbyterian,  and  the  forme?  in 
entering  the  Dutch  denomination. 

Before  going  to  Greenburgh  I  had  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  a  few  friends  at  Bronxville,  some  five 
miles  southeast  of  Greenville,  to  preach  there  in  the 
afternoon,  provided  a  church  edifice  could  there  be 
erected.  In  the  spring  of  1850  the  building  was 
actually  built  and  a  church  organized.  The  persons, 
with    their   families,    prominent    in    this   work,  were 


37 


either  members  or  attendants  of  the  church  at  Green- 
ville— Mr.  Jas.  P.  Swain,  Mrs.  Alexander  Masterton. 
Mrs.  Peter  Perney,  and  James  W.  Prescott.  Green- 
burgh  church  was  now  fortunately  connected  with  a 
new  enterprise  at  Hastings,  and  placed  under  the  effi- 
cient pastorship  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Phelps ;  while 
Bronxville,  in  the  place  of  Greenburgh,  was  united 
with  Greenville,  and  grew  up  under  my  care.  This 
last  union  enabled  me  to  take  the  Church  of  Greenville 
off  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  an  event  to  which  I 
have  ever  looked  back  with  pleasure.  In  all  these 
changes  I  was  installed  over  no  church  but  Greenville, 
and  simply  labored  in  these  other  stations  as  a  volun- 
tary missionary.  In  Hastings  I  did  not  preach,  for 
want  of  a  house.  The  poorest  accommodations  even 
could  not  be  obtained.  The  Rev.  Philip  Phelps,  Jr., 
was  the  first  preacher  there.  After  two  years  he  re- 
signed his  charge  of  the  Church  of  Greenburgh,  and 
devoted  his  whole  time  to  the  one  at  Hastings.  It 
grew  rapidly  and  became  self-sustaining,  with  but  $400 
in  all,  of  missionary  aid.  Under  his  ministry  their 
present  house  of  worship  was  erected  and  subsequently 
enlarged. 

This  church  was  mainly  founded  by  Mr.  Albert 
Chrystie,  of  the  Collegiate  Church,  New  York.  He 
was,  at  its  organization  in  1850,  joined  in  the  elder- 
ship, and  ever  after  supported  in  all  his  efforts,  by  Mr. 
Wm.  Henry  Saunders,  from  the  Independent  Church 
of  England.  They  magnified  their  office,  and  were 
faithful  unto  death.     Two  truer  and  nobler  men  have 


38 

seldom  upheld  the  hands  of  a  pastor,  or  guided  a 
church  through  the  years  of  its  infancy.  Mr.  Phelps 
removed  to  Holland,  Michigan,  June,  1859,  and  was 
immediately  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  D.  McL.  Quacken- 
bush.  His  ministry  was  able  and  profitable  during 
the  two  years  of  its  continuance.  He  was  succeeded 
for  about  three  years  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Henry  Johr- 
son.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  T.  R.  G.  Peck,  entered 
upon  his  duties  May  1st,  1865,  and  is  meeting  with 
encouragement.  The  house  in  which  he  ministers  is 
being  extended  for  present  accommodation,  while  a 
parsonage  and  a  stone  lecture-room  will  be  built  this 
summer.  The  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Collier  succeeded  me 
at  Greenville  and  Bronxville,  becoming  pastor  of 
both  churches  October  3d,  1852.  In  1855  these 
churches  were  separated,  and  he  continued  for  a  few 
weeks  pastor,  simply  of  the  latter.  He  was  succeeded 
at  Greenville  by  the  Rev.  Aaron  A.  Marcellus.  After 
several  years  of  service  he  was  followed  in  the  pastoral 
office,  for  about  eleven  months,  by  0.  R.  V.  Romondt, 
and  he  from  December,  1861,  to  the  present  time,  by 
the  Rev.  John  Pitcher.  At  Bronxville  he  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  October,  1857,  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev. 
Washington  Roosevelt.  The  latter  never  cost  our  de- 
nomination a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  either  for 
preaching  or  an  edifice.  It  was  a  clear  gain  through- 
out, being  composed  of  persons  from  other  churches, 
who  brought  with  them  the  ability  and  spirit  to  sup- 
port themselves.  It  was  organized  like  that  at  Hast- 
ings, and  on  the  same  day,  with  but  twelve  members. 


39 

It  lias  been  well  sustained  from  the  first  day  by  a  few 
liberal  and  energetic  spirits,  and  is  in  some  respects  an 
able  church.  The  influences  brought  to  bear  in  that 
region,  and  in  our  growing  classis,  were  such  as 
seconded,  in  an  incidental  way,  the  noble  and  suc- 
cessful efforts  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Neste,  of  New 
York,  to  establish  a  church  at  Mount  Veruon.  Through 
his  substantial  aid  and  counsel,  a  faithful  vine  was 
planted  there  in  1853.  Its  first  minister,  Benjamin  F. 
Snyder,  was  greatly  supported  by  missionary  aid ; 
but  his  successor,  Rev.  Isaac  M.  See,  has  been  privi- 
leged to  see  it  become  almost  self-supporting.  Thus, 
as  the  ripples  from  a  stone  cast  into  the  water  widen 
and  repeat  themselves,  the  waves  of  church  extension 
spread  out  over  this  now  beautiful  heritage,  from  the 
calling  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubois  to  be  your  pastor.  He 
died  on  the  20th  of  April,  1844,  after  a  most  suc- 
cessful ministry  of  nearly  seven  years,  and  was  laid  to 
rest,  like  his  predecessor,  in  the  burial-ground  of  the 
Old  Dutch  Church. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Wilson  was  settled  over  this 
charge  in  1845,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
John  Mason  Ferris,  in  1849.  With  this  young  and 
energetic  pastor  came  great  changes.  He  observed 
that  the  attendance  in  the  South  Church  building  was 
much  larger  than  in  the  North,  which  stood  in  the  coun- 
try ;  and  in  three  or  four  months  after  his  settlement 
he  declined  to  preach  in  the  latter  house,  as  had  Long 
been  the  habit  of  your  ministers  on  a  part  of  the  day, 
and  confined  his  services  to  the  former.     An  arrange- 


40 

ment,  to  which  lie  gave  his  consent — and  $100  of  his 
salary,  was  then  made,  with  the  Rev.  John  W.  Schenck, 
to  perforin  all  the  duties  of  a  pastor  for  that  section  of 
the   congregation   who  preferred  to  worship   in    the 
North  Church,  and  in  this  way  both  houses  were  kept 
open  for  two  services  on  the  Sabbath.     In  about  one 
year  after   this    arrangement  was  entered   into,   Mr. 
Schenck   resigned    his  position,  when  the  consistory 
were  led  to  consider  the  expediency  of  securing  for  the 
North  part  of  the  congregation  the  labors  of  a  separate 
pastor.    This  seemed,  on  further  reflection,  to  call  for  a 
division  of  the  property.     In  a  few  weeks  a  division 
was  agreed  upon,  by  which  it  was  determined  that  be- 
sides the  North  Church  retaining  the  name,  corporate 
seal,  records  and  silver  plate,  the  South  Church  should 
assume  a  debt  of  about   $1,000  (for  the  payment  of 
which  a  sufficient  sum  was  afterwards  realized  by  the 
sale  of  a  house  and  lot  given  in  deed  some  years  be- 
fore), and  give  to  the  North  $2,000,  together  with  the 
North  Church  building  and  burial  ground.     And  the 
North  should  release  to  the  South  all  church  property, 
including  the  church  building  and  parsonage  situated 
in  the  village  of  Tarrytown.     For  the  disproportion- 
ate character  of  this  division,  I  have  never  been  able 
to  account.     It  would  seem  not  to  have  occurred  to 
your  rninds  until  some  time  afterwards,  that  if  you  at- 
tempted to  confine  yourselves  to  your  old  church  edi- 
fice you  must  utterly  die  out,  and  that  if  you  left  it 
it  would   be  worse  than  nothing  to  you  in  value,  nor 
that  the  money  you  had  received  was  not  more  than 
half  enough  to  obtain  for  you  even  a  'parsonage. 


41 

Of  the  126  families  and  230  members  reported,  66 
families  and  90  members  with  the  pastor,  passed  to  the 
South  Church,  and  60  families  and  150  members  remain- 
ed with  the  North.  Of  the  150  left  on  the  record  as  mem- 
bers of  the  latter  church,  full  40  were  either  such  as  could 
not  be  found,  or  such  as  we  have  sought  for  good  rea- 
sons through  many  years,  and  not  without  some  suc- 
cess at  last,  to  be  relieved  of.  Oh,  those  old  records 
of  members,  so  much  valued  in  the  separation,  were 
almost  enough  to  have  driven  away  any  minister  you 
might  have  called  !  At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation 
called  by  the  Consistory  to  consider  and  approve 
of  the  above  agreement,  it  was  resolved  to  call  the 
Rev.  William  Brush  to  be  your  pastor.  He  came,  saw 
the  state  of  things,  and  in  three  months  resigned  with- 
out being  installed.  This  was  in  March,  1852.  The 
North  division  of  this  congregation  was  now  distin- 
guished in  her  corporate  name  as  the  First,  and  the 
South,  as  the  Second  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch 
Church  of  Tarrytown.  The  latter  was  organized  No- 
vember 24th,  1851,  and  the  Rev.  John  Mason  Ferris 
was  installed  over  it  on  the  evening  of  January  11th, 
1852.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Abel 
T.  Stewart  of  Greenville ;  the  charge  to  the  pastor  was 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  John  L.  See  of  Union ville,  and 
the  charge  to  the  congregation  was  given  by  the  Rev. 
Abraham  D.  Wyckoff,  of  Greenburgh.  After  a  few 
months  they  enlarged  their  house  of  worship  and 
grew  steadily  under  the  care  of  their  pastor,  until  in 
the  fall  of  1854,  wThen  he  removed  to  Chicago.     It  con- 


42 

tinued  to  grow  under  his  successor,  the  Rev.  John  A. 
Todd,  who  was  installed  in  the  early  part  of  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  During  the  last  eleven  years,  covering 
his  entire  ministry  down  to  the  21st  of  April  last,  it 
has  received  into  its  communion  160  persons  on  con- 
fession of  their  faith,  and  contributed  $17,832  for  be- 
nevolent purposes.  The  years  1857  and  '59-764  and 
1865  were  especially  fruitful  in  conversions. 

In  July,  1852,  I  accepted  a  most  unexpected  call  of 
your  Consistory,  and  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  that  month 
entered  on  my  duties  as  your  pastor-elect.  Your  call, 
on  being  tendered  the  second  time,  and  made  as  invit- 
ing as  was  possible  in  your  ability,  offered  me  for  my 
temporal  support  $650 ;  and  this,  with  the  exception  of 
a  small  donation,  was  all  I  received  for  some  time  after 
my  settlement.  In  October  a  committee  of  the  Consis- 
tory was  appointed  to  find  and  report  a  site  for  a  new 
church  edifice.  Nothing  particularly  followed  this 
action,  but  in  December  it  was  resolved  to  invite  the 
congregation  to  consider  this  subject.  The  notice  was 
given  from  the  pulpit,  and  the  congregation  assembled 
and  resolved,  that  William  See,  William  F.  Van  Wart, 
Alexander  Watson,  Abraham  D.  Stephens  and  William 
Hawes  should  be  a  committee  to  look  for  suitable 
grounds  for  a  new  church  edifice,  and  ascertain  what 
funds  could  be  secured  in  the  congregation  for  the  ob- 
ject. They  reported  two  lots;  one  opposite  the  North 
Church,  and  the  other,  the  one  afterwards  selected. 
Each  person  was  invited  to  express  his  views  in  the 
fullest  manner,  after  which  it  was  unanimously  decided 


43 

to  purchase  the  lot  on  which  this,  our  present  house  of 
worship,  is  erected. 

The  parsonage  which  you  had  nearly  completed  was 
sold,  and  it  was  subsequently  determined  to  erect  one 
nearer  to  the  church  edifice.  An  acre  and  a  half  of 
land  was  obtained  for  both  buildings,  and  on  this 
beautiful  spot  they  were  erected  in  the  same  year. 

And  now  we  turn  from  the  "  Old  Church"  beauti- 
fully standing  in  all  its  associations  of  religion,  scenery, 
romance,  and  the  sleeping  dead.  Many  hearts  have 
communed  with  Christ  within  its  walls,  part  of  whom 
"  have  crossed  the  flood,  and  part  are  crossing  now." 

Its  bell  on  certain  occasions  shall  yet  ring  out  its 
silvery  notes  to  the  margin  of  the  Hudson. 

"  Pocantico  still  rolls  his  stream 
Beneath  the  bridge  of  Irving's  dream, 
As  when  he  heard  the  tramp  and  scream 
Of  Ichabod,  that  fearful  night 
When  Brown  Bones  gave  him  such  a  fright." 

"  The  rivals  sleep,  and  with  them  he  whose  wand 
Hath  made  their  names  so  famous  in  the  land  ; 

By  the  old  church  they  sleep,     ' 
Beyond  death's  stream, 

No  more  to  laugh  and  weep, 
No  more  to  dream. 

With  thousands  in  God's  acre  they  repose, 
Where  the  hushed  wind  in  gentlest  whisper  blows," 

and  where  the  arch-angel's  trump  will  yet  be  heard 
joyfully  waking  up  thousands  of  infant  children,  and 
adult  believers  to  meet  their  blessed  Lord. 

Sunny  side  and  the  grave  of  its  illustrious  occupant 
will  be  protected.  Andre  brook  will  ripple  on  over 
its  short   bed  to  the  river,  and  the  monument  erected 


44 

to  his  captors  will  stand,  and  surely  the  Old  Church 
that  antidates  them  all  in  history  will  be  preserved. 

Here,  in  this  house,  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  our 
God  on  the  24th  day  of  May,  1854  (our  thoughts  all 
recur  to  the  lamented  Beithune,  who  performed  the 
service,  and  in  our  hearts  we  could  wish  him  back  to 
earth,  did  we  not  believe  him  to  be  in  Heaven),  we 
have  with  great  comfort  for  twelve  years,  preached  the 
everlasting  Gospel.  Here  we  have  besought  men  in 
Christ's  stead  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  Here  we  have 
prayed  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  growth 
of  believers.  Here,  in  obedience  to  the  terms  of  your 
"  call  "  and  my  public  promise,  we  have  imparted  cate- 
chetical instruction  to  the  youth,  and  regularly  ex- 
plained the  Heidelberg  catechism  on  the  Lord's  day, 
and  here  we  have  never  failed  to  make  supplication 
u  for  all  that  were  in  authority."  On  no  Sabbath  dur- 
ing our  late  dreadful  civil  war  did  I,  when  leading 
your  devotions,  fail  to  pray  for  the  President  of  our 
country,  the  maintenance  of  our  government,  and  the 
restoration  of  the  Union.  When  our  interest  was 
heavy  we  were  kindly  presented  with  $200  a  year  for 
five  years,  by  the  Consistory  of  the  Collegiate  Church. 
That  gift  I  have  always  considered  one  of  the  turning 
points  in  our  success.  Our  shed  was  roofed  at  an 
expense  of  several  hundred  dollars  by  our  friend  An- 
son G.  Phelps,  Jr.  Our  excellent  bell  was  presented 
by  another  friend,  Wilson  G.  Hunt.  The  furniture  of 
the  house,  and  many  of  its  fixtures,  were  obtained  in 
a  great  degree  by  the  persevering  efforts  of  the  ladies. 


45 

Our  organ  was  the  result  of  persevering  efforts  on  the 
part  of  a  committee,  and  shows  what  a  congregation 
can  do  when  they  feel  an  interest  in  a  work.  We  be- 
gan, to  raise  money  for  an  Organum  Harmonicum,  and 
caring:  but  little  for  it,  failed.  We  undertook  for  an 
organ,  and  caring  much  for  it,  succeeded.  It  is  an  ex- 
cellent instrument,  worth  more  than  double  its  cost, 
and  only  needs  the  accompaniment  of  the  new  "  Book 
of  Praise  "  in  every  pew,  and  its  use  by  every  worship- 
per to  prove  a  decided  help  in  an  important  part  of 
the  service.  v/^'y' 

On  the  14th  of  June^you  were  invited  at  the  close 
of  the  service  to  meet  on  the  following  Tuesday  even- 
ing, and  devise  means  for  liquidating  a  part  or  the 
whole  of  our  church  debt.  Nine  persons  responded 
to  the  call ;  God  was  present  at  the  meeting.  An  earn- 
est sermon  followed  on  the  next  Sabbath  morning, 
founded  on  9th  verse  of  the  29th  chapter  of  the  1st 
Book  of  Chronicles.  "  Then  the  people  rejoiced,  for 
that  they  offered  willingly,  because  with  perfect  heart 
they  offered  willingly  to  the  Lord ;  and  David  the 
king  also  rejoiced  with  great  joy,"  wherein  we  sat  be- 
fore you  in  the  solemn  crisis  of  our  church  affairs,  a 
connected  scriptural  argument  with  most  weighty  con- 
siderations for  your  immediate  action  for  relief.  You 
met  again  and  accepted  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Wallace  to  raise  $500  outside  the  congregation, 
on  condition  that  the  whole  sum  of  your  indebtedness 
should  be  paid  in  thirty  days.  You  met  again, 
and  then  once  again,  and   reported  the  entire  needed 


46 

sum  of  $7,762,  secured.  The  committee  consisting  0*' 
William  See,  John  R.  Bacon,  William  B.  Landrine, 
Edwin  R.  Bogardus  and  William  Hawes,  at  once  col- 
lected the  subscriptions  and  paid  our  entire  debt.  For 
this  success  we  were  indebted  for  substantial  aid  to 
some  friends  not  included  in  the  congregation.  They 
never  gave  to  a  more  worthy  cause,  and  we  shall  ever 
have  reason  to  respect  and  love  them  for  their  kind- 
ness ;  but  as  a  people  including  now  those  worshipping 
with  us  during  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  year,  you 
did  nobly.  Many  of  you  gave  to  the  extent  of  your 
ability  and  with  the  best  of  spirit.  I  think  of  no 
words  adequate  to  the  occasion,  but  those  of  King 
David  when  addressing  all  Israel  and  expressing  the 
emotions  to  God  after  their  large  contributions  to 
build  the  temple,  "  Now  therefore  our  God,  we  thank 
thee  and  praise  thy  glorious  name.  But  who  am  I, 
and  what  is  my  people,  that  we  should  be  able  to  of- 
fer so  willingly  after  this  sort  ?  for  all  things  come  of 
thee,  and  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee."  Oh,  it 
was  a  blessed  consummation  of  labor,  of  hope,  and  of 
prayer.  We  could  only  obtain  in  subscription  some 
twenty-eight  hundred  dollars  in  all  the  land  to  build 
with,  and  forty-eight  hundred  were  all  we  had  from 
all  sources  to  purchase  and  begin  to  build  all  you  now 
see  of  our  present  church  and  parsonage  property,  valu- 
ed as  it  stands  to-day  at  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 
Again  and  again  you  contributed  to  reduce  the  princi- 
pal, but  your  last  sweeping  effort  was  the  noblest 
thing  in  your  long  and  noble  history.     It  was  like 


47 


Mary's  princely  anointing  of  her  blessed  Lord,  when 
she  poured  the  pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard,  very 
costly,  upon  his  head  and  feet,  and  in  many  places  and 
through  many  years  it  "  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  me- 
morial of"  you. 

During  the  past,  nearly  fourteen  years  of  hope  and 
fear,  labor  and  change,  we  have  received  into  our  com- 
munion, on  confession  of  their  faith,  a  hundred  and 
thirty  persons.  Our  present  number  of  members,  free 
from  many  who  were  weights  to  our  progress,  and  all 
whose  residence  is  unknown,  is  a  hundred  and  ninety- 
four.  With  those  whom  we  have  gained  from  the  world, 
we  think  of  those  whom  we  have  given  up  to  heaven. 
In  memory  they  crowd  upon  me,  from  the  first  one  to 
the  last ;  and  I  think  of  John  Sherwood ;  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth See ;  Abraham  D.  Moore ;  Mrs.  Catharine  Devoe  ; 
Mrs.  Mary  Yates ;  James  P.  See ;  Mrs.  Albert  Minnerly ; 
William  Brown ;  Mrs.  Mary  Sherwood ;  James  S.  Yan 
Wart ;  Margaret  Ann  and  Sophia  Louisa  See ;  William 
Dearman;  Mrs.  Martha  Jane  Martin;  Mrs.  Isabella 
Gearhardt ;  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Knapp ;  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Kenyon ;  Mrs.  Phebe  Landrine,  and  Julia  De  Revere, 
her  daughter ;  Mrs.  Mary  Snowden ;  Leah  See ;  Paul 
H.  Powles  ;  John  Devoe  ;  Teressa  W.  Tallman ;  Mrs. 
Mary  Brown  ;  Mrs.  Mary  Vail ;  Levi  S.  Carl ;  Mrs. 
Sophia  Devoe ;  Jonathan  Bayles,  and  Mrs.  Catharine 
Guthrie,  who,  down  to  the  latest  hour  of  her  long  life, 
and  months  after  she  had  become  a  child  on  every 
other  subject,  could  be  aroused  at  any  time  by  the 
mention  of  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  the  most  beautiful 


48 

and  Christian  expressions  concerning  his  precious 
character  and  grace ;  Mrs.  Anna  F.  Yerks,  Isaac 
Tompkins,  and  Catharine  his  wife,  Joei  Knapp, 
Peter  See,  Mrs.  Sarah  Shindler,  Mrs.  Catharine 
Weis,  William  Couch,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Tracy,  Mrs. 
Nancy  Bayles,  Mrs.  Jane  Devoe.  These  happy 
spirits  now  compass  us  about  as  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses,  and  urge  us  to  lay  aside  every  weight, 
and  4 '  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us, 
looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith." 

Taking  into  consideration  the  favorable  circum- 
stances under  which  we  meet  this  day  as  a  church  of 
Christ ;  the  room  and  conveniences  we  possess  over  and 
above  our  old  house  of  worship ;  the  great  advance- 
ment of  the  cause  of  our  Redeemer  in  the  growth  of 
other  churches  that  have  sprung  from  this  ;  the  pre- 
sent harmony,  strength  and  prospects  of  this  the  mo- 
ther church  ;  and  the  rich  blessings  of  God  which  have 
rested  upon  it  for  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years, 
visible  especially  in  the  number  of  conversions  and 
numbers  ripened  for  heaven,  and  departed  in  the 
faith,  we  have  highest  reason  to  raise  our  "  Eben- 
ezer,  saying,  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 

And  now  it  is  asked  why  I  leave  a  church  and  a 
county  with  which  I  have  been  so  long  identified,  and 
in  which  my  labors  have  been  so  manifestly  blessed. 
Is  it  to  find  easier  work  ?  Surely  not,  when  so  much 
of  the  hard  and  discouraging  work  here  is  done.  Is  it 
to  find  stronger  and  truer  friends  ?     They  cannot  be 


49 

found  in  this  world.  Is  it  to  find  a  more  pleasant 
home  ?  In  this,  too,  I  would  fail ;  for  the  parsonage, 
I  have  thought,  is  located  more  beautifully  than  any 
other  one  on  the  enchanting  road  that  connects  Sing 
Sing  with  Yonkers,  on  the  bank  of  the  Hudson,  on 
which  it  has  been  truthfully  said  by  one  of  the  ablest 
and  oldest  pastors  of  New  York  city,  "  is  gathered 
more  intelligence,  religion  and  wealth,  with  natural  and 
artistic  beauty,  than  on  any  other  stretch  of  the  same 
number  of  miles  in  this  country."  I  go  from  you,  then, 
who  are  now  in  good  position  to  be  left,  that  I  may 
help  those  noble  men  who  are  laboring  for  the  exten- 
sion of  our  church  in  the  West  ;  that  I  may  aid  in 
laying  foundations  on  which  other  men  shall  largely 
build  for  Christ ;  that  I  may  mould  the  minds  and  char- 
acters of  the  children  who  may  come  under  my  care,  and 
exert  some  influence  on  the  young  men  who,  for  the 
most  part,  must  become  our  Western  ministers.  Sure- 
ly my  call  is  great.  For  two  years  I  have  struggled 
against  it,  but  it  has  fought  its  way  in  upon  my  judg- 
ment and  heart,  until  now  I  am  ready  to  respond  to  it 
at  the  necessary  sacrifice.  God  has  been  my  helper 
since  first  I  began  my  struggles  for  a  liberal  education, 
and  my  dear  friends,  now  pray  that  He  who  has  been 
my  strength  in  the  past,  may  stand  by  me  in  the  fu- 
ture of  my  course,  and  help  me  even  more. 

4 


